Airplane Mode
by SmileandWaveBoys
Summary: Being stuck in an airport for four hours sucks, Clary knows especially because she happens to now be familiar with that situation. But when she's got her laptop with her and a hot not-so stranger, how could things not look up? Jace/Clary. AU. One-Shot.


**A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed/followed/favorited my other Clace story Seven Minutes In Heaven! It's because of you all that I decided to give Clace another shot in another plot I've been thinking about writing.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments characters at all.**

* * *

They say you shouldn't head to airports without the necessary precautions. Such as, whether a person left their laptop at home and went to the airport without it. Or, perhaps, if you left your itinerary and forgot to print your boarding pass before. Those circumstances would have proved that you could be screwed eternally for that. But Clary Fray's case was a little different. She supposed, now that she thought about it, she could have been at least a little more thankful. She could have gotten precisely one of the situations.

But, thank the very God, she didn't.

Instead, however, at the age of twenty-one, she still never really did remember to check the flight update on her phone. At least, it would have saved her from standing there, her hand clutching tightly on the one carry-on she bothered to bring with her, staring blankly at the flight screen on the wall.

 _British Airways...718...JFK Airport...10:45...DELAYED_

She had to reread that one line over and over again before the line finally faded, showing another line for another flight which happened to be conveniently on time and _it wasn't hers_. Life wasn't fair, she concluded, shaking her head dazedly from her thoughts as she sat down numbly in the gate's seats.

She knew she had two hours before she found out about the treacherous news because her brother, who she had been visiting for the summer in London, had dropped her off quickly because he had work to go to. And she had been perfectly fine with that. She could wait two hours, she had a few papers to write on her laptop for college anyway, but waiting _four hours_? How could it get any worse?

 _Fuck Heathrow airport and all its fancy British spirit. I'm crushed._

She brought out her laptop as she had planned, but as the cursor hovered over the Word Document icon, a small _bleep_ was sounded from the email icon. She mentally debated the options: she could start typing away for her paper like she planned on doing and had been procrastinating against, or she could check who had instant messaged her instead.

It was pretty obvious which option she chose.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Hey, you getting ready to board yet?_

Clary smirked. If someone could bring her day upwards, it was her best friend Simon, and for that she was thankful for. Maybe she could pass the time just by talking to him if he wasn't busy. But then again, she had a couple of papers to write...she groaned.

 **ClaryF320:** _Nope. Read the freaking flight update and weep._

It was a few minutes before she had gotten another reply from him, which was understandable. When she found out, she was pretty sure she was glued to the spot from there on out. What else was a girl supposed to do?

 _Simonthebassist248 is typing..._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Wow. That sucks. Did you tell Jonathan yet?_

 **ClaryF320:** _Oh, yeah. He got an earful load of that._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _I can imagine. And he laughed?_

 **ClaryF320:** _He cackled._

Clary felt a tap on her shoulder. "Is this seat taken?" she heard a man's voice say. She recognized the accent as British, but that didn't surprise her much, considering she'd been in London all summer. Quickly, she nodded her head blindly without turning around to look out the person and shoved her carry-on out of the way. Smiling to herself, she turned back to her computer as Simon's reply came back.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _xD~ I'm rolling on the floor._

 **ClaryF320:** _I hope it's because you're dying. =P_

She smirked as his message took a little longer than usual to come back. Right then, she knew he had struck him good.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Clearly not, love. Or else you would hear the ground shrieking in worship at my feet._

 **ClaryF320:** _That doesn't even make any sense. My comeback is better._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Well, that's rich. While you've been drooling over hot British boys and wallowing in your brother's shadow this summer, I've been getting buff. The ladies will love me, and you'll be the one to follow. Have you been exercising lately?_

 **ClaryF320:** _Woah, there must have been a typo there. Did you mean exercise or extra fries?_

A pause was sentenced there as Clary chortled in her own laughter as she stared at the screen in front of her. She mentally high-fived herself. She swore sometimes she acted like a teenager.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Wow, okay, guess not then._

She smirked.

 _Simonthebassist248 is typing..._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Baby, you and I are like butt cheeks. Even if there's crap between us, we always stick together._

 **ClaryF320:** _WHAT?! AHAHAHAHA OKAY._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Knew it would make you laugh ;)_

 **ClaryF320:** _Yeah. Tell that to your girl Isabelle, see how much she laughs._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _I did. She smacked me. Never making poop jokes again._

 **ClaryF320:** _Clearly._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _...Not._

She felt another tap on her shoulder, and this time, she turned to look who it was, stuffing her remaining boisterous chuckles away as she looked at the meat in front of her. _Sweet baby Jesus._ Her eyes widened. Had this absolute hunk been sitting next to her this whole time and she hadn't stuttered in her movements _once_? The man in front of her was a blonde, she realized with a start, but never in her life had she found a blonde boy this attractive. Normally, she went for the boys with dark hair and such, that is if they were interested in her.

But this guy...he truly had it all. The perfect stereotypical looking face: Roman-like sculpted face, tanned in all the right places, chiseled jaw, stern yet somehow smiling face, and as she had said – shaggy but strikingly sharp blonde locks. But his eyes weren't blue – something she always stereotyped with blonde-haired beauties – they were gold. And yes, that may have sounded a little teeny bopper or clichéd but it wasn't. His eyes really were gold, no joke.

His lips were moving, but she wasn't focusing on that. Well, she was, but not in that way that he probably would have liked her to do. She was thinking of the way his lips would move like that if they happened to be pressed against her favorite bookcase back home, hands tangled everywhere breathlessly, and heartbeats ramming loudly in sync. Reading, of course. Nothing else. What else more could they be doing with their mouths?

"Er...hello?" the beautiful man spoke, snapping her out of her lust-induced thoughts. She cleared her throat as she mentally adjusted herself to what was going on. Either way, knowing her luck, he'd probably have a girl with him, rendering him hopelessly unavailable. It wasn't like she could take him home with her back to Manhattan and stash him away from the world.

"Uh...hey," she mumbled oh-so intelligently, cocking her head to the side to wonder why on earth someone as scalding as him would bother talking to a ginger chump like her. "The weather today is pretty hot, isn't it?" She mentally gave her face a well-deserved high-five. A more than your average cute guy finally decided to acknowledge her existence and she talked about the _weather_? What in the monkey's poop was _wrong_ with her?

The man blinked blankly before staring dazedly at her in surprise. Cue awkward pause. Then, he chuckled lightly, confusing Clary as to why he did that. Was he secretly disgusted by her American kind but was nice enough not to comment about it? "It certainly is," he stared at her, his eyes roaming from her tired sweaty face from running through the airport so much, to her converse clad toes. _Great. I knew I should have worn at least some mascara._ Then, the smirking bastard turned to her before nodding cockily, "The weather, I mean."

 _He has a cheeky side_ , she noted smugly but rolled her eyes. "Aren't you the charmer?" He laughed – good lovely Lord, did he laugh – and stared at her again, a small smile remaining on his face.

"One could say that," he trailed off a little before shaking his head numbly and smiling again, "I actually wanted to ask you for a pen. Sorry. I got sidetracked for a moment there."

Clary shrugged as if it was nothing, but inwardly, she felt a piercing shrinking in disappointed. And here she thought he actually might want to talk – how insane would that be, a random stranger starting a conversation with her, but golly was he good-looking – but just wanted a pen. She reached in her own bag and pulled out a smooth ball-point pen and handed it to him, beaming up at him. _Tall even, too. Did he have any physical faults?_ "Here you go."

"Thanks," he replied, smiling back at her, taking the pen gratefully from her. He turned away to scribble something along a notepad, and it was right then that Clary realized she had six new unread messages from Simon. Cursing herself mentally, she looked back to her screen.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _But we both know that Isabelle is too preoccupied with something else in her hands nowadays to even think about doing much hitting, if you know what I mean._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Am I right?_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Okay, fine I know that was crude, but you gotta admit that was funny._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _...Clary?_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _...Have the dementors eaten you there at Hogwarts? :O_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Seriously, though. Is the ginger from your hair getting transferred to your brain?_

 **ClaryF320:** _No, you dork._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Clary! I thought you died._

 **ClaryF320:** _No, you didn't._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Okay, I didn't._

 **ClaryF320:** _You're a dolt._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _And you're smelly. And mean XP_

She moved her fingers to type up another nasty retort at him, a whole list of un-ladylike profanities just waiting to be snapped at the top of her head, when the man who she had almost forgotten was there spoke again. "Here's your pen back." Clary grabbed the pen back from him before slipping it back into her purse and looking him in the eye. He clearly wanted to say something more, but she didn't really know why he was holding back. "Er..." he looked nervous; why did he look nervous? "So, from your accent, I'm guessing your from America, eh? How's that like?" The man winced, as if that wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, but quickly smirked, trying to cover it up.

She appreciated that. "Yep. It's fine, I guess. Britain is pretty nice too. The...uh, water is pretty cold here." Her face hurt from all the cringing she had been doing lately. What was it about this guy that left her stuttering? Maybe she needed some coffee. _Yes, some coffee would really be nice right now._ She received another _bleep_ from her laptop before smiling apologetically at the man and turning away.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Isabelle says hi. More like threatened me to tell you that._

 **ClaryF320:** _She would, wouldn't she? Tell her I miss her bunches._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _She says she knows. And says the first thing she's gonna do when you come back home is kick your ass._

Clary chuckled lightheartedly. Isabelle was Simon's long-term girlfriend, and they happened to actually be deeply in love. Not that it was surprising, but it was just that Isabelle always used to go for the wrong guys before she gave Simon a chance, and that's why Clary was always so hesitant around her, though she loved her. It also didn't really help that Simon used to have a little crush on herself when they were growing up. But the past was the past, and now Clary could gladly say they were pretty close friends. She hoped, at least.

"May I ask what you keep laughing about?" That same man that was sitting next to her looked at her curiously, a small smile tilting his lips adorably. She stuck out her tongue at him – something she found herself almost immediately regretting, before she realized he was actually charmed by her 'humor' and relaxed. "You seem oddly happy."

"I guess I am," she replied honestly. Seeing there was nothing more to lose and she still had three hours and a half to lose, she continued, "The only real downside is that I'm gonna be here for a while 'cause my flight got delayed. Like, two extra hours delayed. And I already came here expecting to just be here for just two."

The man looked generally curious at this, a perfect blonde brow raising in thought. "If you don't mind me asking, why is that?"

"Because my brother is a retard." Looking at his still adorably confused but somehow – in a world Clary really didn't understand – intrigued at her dilemma, she hoped to fill in the blanks he was clearly observing. "I came here because my older and only brother lives here for the summer, so it's sort of like my vacation but I have a workload of things to prepare for the upcoming year." She frowned slightly at this, shrugging. "Either way, I had my fun with him so I'm coming home, but he had a really important business meeting to attend to, and I told him I was okay with staying here a little early to catch up."

"But while you were staying here, you decided to ignore the flight updates until the last minute so now you're stuck here," he completed for her, staring at her smugly. He smirked at her, rubbing his chin as if what she did really amused him. _How old is this guy, thirteen?_ He'd be a very cute thirteen year old, she concluded before mentally face-palming herself. _Not the time to be a pedophile_ , she thought. "Welcome to the club."

She widened her eyes at him. Maybe they did have something in common, if only it was just something incredibly minor. "You had the same issue?"

He shrugged, staring at her amusedly. "Sort of. I'm here because my step-brother and sister are in the States, so I'm going to visit them there. Only, I have business to attend to, not for any other reason."

She nodded her head. "Cool. Are they both older than you?" She didn't know why she asked that question. It might have been a little weird of her to ask that to a complete stranger without taking some necessary precautions first. They should have gone through the favorite food list or even color, but instead, she had jumped ahead straight to the siblings part of the ordeal. How torn up was she?

The man, surprisingly not at all fazed by the question, shook his head. He still had that mischievous glint in his eyes that proved to Clary that he knew something she didn't. "No. Alec is the oldest, I'm the middle, and Isabelle is the youngest." She felt her brain freeze there for a moment, and she sat there, staring utterly confused at the man in front of her. _Alec and Isabelle...it_ can't _be...Jace was in a totally different country..._ Then her mind trailed off as she realized something with a start, and her mind told her tauntingly, _a different country such as Britain?_ The man – who she now had a weird feeling about, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was good or bad – noticed her expression and smirked. "What are you thinking?"

She continued to stare like the dumb-founded idiot she was. This was definitely taking a strange turn now, she had to admit. She wasn't sure if she wanted to run away from the strange man or to kiss the living daylights out of him. She knew immediately which one she'd prefer, and it has nothing to do with wearing out her new shoes that were already pretty torn after running through the airport. "Uh...gah..." were the intelligent words that she chose selectively to come out of her mouth.

The man had been clearly trying to hold in his laughter, but stopped restraining himself once Clary had spoken. His mouth opened as he laughed joyfully, and she was entranced. _He really did have it all._ "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner it was me, Clary." Her eyes widened with a start as she realized her thoughts were true about him. It was a seriously small world. How could they find each other after all this time?

Again, she opened her mouth, wanting to say something witty like she knew it was him all along, or even make one of Simon's ever famous poop jokes, but instead: "Huh...? J...Jace?" Then, not entirely sure all of a sudden: "As in, Jace Lightwood...?"

The man grinned another heart-stopping grin, his eyes lighting up as she finally guessed the right answer for once. _I haven't seen this boy since we were fifteen...how could I forget_ him _?_ "Finally, I thought it would have taken – " Right at that moment, she had gotten another _bleep_ from her computer, and she turned, in a daze, to check it, her mind still not wrapping around what had just happened.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Hello? You zoned out again._

Sighing numbly, she moved her fingers to send a reply.

 **ClaryF320:** _I'm fine... Hey, you remember Isabelle's older brother?_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _What about Alec?_

 **ClaryF320:** _Not Alec. The other one. Jace._

"Is something wrong, Clary?" the man – Jace – asked concernedly at her, causing her to wince at the way he said her name. He had changed so much, she noted. She remember he used to be this cocky bastard when they were younger, flirting and fucking with girls at the age of ten and above, rubbing it in her face that there were people so much better than her – but this guy was a changed man. Well, at least, from what she had seen so far. Then again, she didn't really know this new Jace.

"No..." she shook her head, smiling slightly at him. "It's just...it's a little bit of a shock to see you, that's all...the last time I saw you you were dating that girl Aline, weren't you? She moved away, though, so I didn't really talk to her that much. It didn't seem to bother you that much 'cause you started screwing Kaelie a few days after she left." She noticed the way he winced as she spoke of his past reputation, and he looked down ashamedly.

It was the first time she ever saw Jace Lightwood look almost self-loathing at anything ever in her life. She was still shocked in the first place; she never thought she would see him again in her life. Maybe at Isabelle's future wedding with Simon, who knows. But at Heathrow while waiting because her flight was coincidentally delayed...she didn't really expect it.

"Yeah, well, I've...been trying to change since then," he explained sheepishly to her, somehow one of his blonde locks fell into his eyes while he was talking to create almost a bashful look. "I've been distracting myself with work, trying to create a real life with myself ever since my father forced me to move here. I mean, I've missed Isabelle and Alec a lot, but...I liked moving on from my old life." _Moving on from me?_ She mentally shook herself for that thought. They hadn't ever been even dating, so why did she take that sentence to heart so badly?

Instead, she blinked at him, taking that bit of information in silently. "Can I ask you something?" _Bleep._ Clary turned to her computer once again, leaving a slightly curious Jace in the process.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _That arrogant cock of an older brother? That player that broke every girl's heart when he was only freaking fifteen? How can someone forget someone like him?_

She moved her fingers hastily to type, but another message was sent to her instead, so she read that instead.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Don't get me wrong, I love Isabelle and all that, but he's just...something else entirely. Why are you bringing him up?_

"He really does hate me, doesn't he?" Jace laughed, peering over her shoulder at the screen. In normal situations, Clary would have been annoyed if someone had done what he did – it seemed like invading her privacy – but this was Jace effin' Lightwood, and one couldn't dismiss him even though that was all she did when they were younger. Clary smiled, embarrassed at Simon's antics before turning to reply to Simon again.

 **ClaryF320:** _Funny story, actually...he's sitting right next to me reading this and laughing at you._

"I can't believe that guy is still whipped for you," Jace all of a sudden said, staring at the screen wistfully before staring at her again. She caught the edge to his voice as he said that, and she wondered what that had been about. She knew that Jace and Simon had never really liked each other, but she was confused as to why Jace had said what he had said in that almost...irritable tone.

"No, he got over me. He's actually with your sister, in case if you were wondering," she defended her best friend. She looked as Jace's eyes widened in realization before frowning. At that moment, she'd give anything to know what he was thinking.

"Wow. Isabelle told me that she was dating him, but I thought she was just telling a fib to get her parents off her back," he said thoughtfully, trailing off. He tapped his fingertips on the arm of the seat he was sitting, brushing slightly against her thigh. It was seriously distracting. "So they really are together, huh? And...and how does that make you feel?"

That question confused her. She didn't know his thought process, she never understood it in her life. So she didn't know where he was getting at when he asked that. "How is it supposed to make me feel?" She only got a shrug from him, his poker face refusing to show how he really felt. "I only ever liked him as a friend, but Isabelle pretty much swept him off his feet about two years after you left, so his crush faded away I guess." This time something flickered across his face – surprise? Confusion?...Joy? – before he remained stone-faced once again.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Oh, wow...huh?_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Are you serious?_

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Wait...Isabelle just told me that he was coming over for, like, two weeks...pretty weird how you both got the same flights, huh_

 **ClaryF320:** _I guess._

"Oh, yeah," she said suddenly, looking back to Jace who was watching her with a strange expression. She wanted to ask him why he was staring at her like that, but she knew better. Besides, she had something else she wanted to ask, something she always wondered about a notorious player-slash-bad-boy. "I wanted to ask you something before Simon interrupted."

He smiled – though it seemed reluctant – before nodding, giving her permission. "Shoot, I suppose."

"Why did you play all of those girls like that?" she asked abruptly, but immediately regretting once she saw the dawning gloomy expression on his face. He looked absolutely horrified; like he didn't expect that question from her, but had at the same time been dreading it horrendously. _What's so wrong with the question? Besides that it's none of my business._ It was too late to take it back when he replied, however.

"I...was jealous. Tremendously," he said weakly, staring at anything – her eyebrow, her nose, her cheeks, her hair – but her eyes. Yet, she knew he was telling the truth. He was just nervous, she thought.

"Of what?" she asked softly, wanting to reach over and grasp the long fingers, but that would only make things more awkward between them, and things were already awkward enough.

"I, er..." he gulped. Why was he so nervous? What happened to the arrogant, cocky bastard that always used to bully her when she was younger? He definitely had changed, and she really hoped it was for the better. "I liked this girl. A lot. And...she didn't like me. Stupid and immature, I know, but that was that. So I did everything in my power to get her to notice me: tried to make her jealous by screwing a bunch of girls, but I only got disgust from her. I was mean and annoyed with her because she didn't even act like I existed. And the only way to get her to notice me was do something remarkably noticeable."

"Did it work?" said oblivious Clary, staring at Jace whilst trying to hide her sadness and disappointment. So, he actually did love another girl. She never thought it would be possible, back then at least, but then again, did he never told her anything when they were younger. That girl must have been brokenhearted, surely, if she had to sit there, watching Jace be with other people but not knowing he actually wanted to be with her. "Did she ever confess to you?"

He paused, staring at her with the previous expression he had on that she couldn't name precisely. It annoyed her so much that she didn't know what he was thinking. Then, suddenly, he smirked. It was sort of a sad smirk, but he still looked hopeful, and she couldn't help the twinge of disappointment that followed. So he really _hadn't_ gotten over her. "Not yet," he said finally. "But she will." Cue another arrogant smile. "She totally digs me."

"Even now?" she couldn't help but asking. She really was curious as to who his mystery girl was.

"You still really don't know, do you?" he muttered, throwing her once again in the depths of confusion. Eyes widening, he mumbled an apology as if he couldn't believe he actually had said that out loud. He quickly threw on his typical cocky smirk again as he filled in, "Even now."

They continued small-talking and even deep-talking when Simon said he had to go for a little while but had promised to come back soon. Clary hadn't really minded that much – she got to know Jace a lot more, and she was very happy with the results. Despite the sexual innuendos and cocky attitude, she couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at her. It was like he'd never seen a girl before. And she couldn't help the way she was looking at him as well. She found herself hating herself for that.

A lot of time went by when Simon came back online to chat with her.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Is he the same? You know, an absolute idiot?_

She smiled as Jace scoffed beside her. Now, she really didn't mind that he was looking over her shoulder. Simon amused her anyway, and they were both on the same page when it came to Jace. The only difference, she thought with a frown, was that she had long-term feelings for Jace, and Simon didn't swing that way.

 **ClaryF320:** _He's reading everything now. But no, he_ – She looked over at Jace who was staring at her as she typed. Judging by his face, she knew he too was waiting for what she was going to say about him. He caught her eye, but she blinked, breaking contact and turning back to type, blushing wildly – _is...better now. He changed._ From beside her, Jace smiled, clearly pleased with this answer very much.

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Man, he got you too? Be careful, Clary. As much as he'd been crushing on you since we were little, he's still very much capable of hurting you._

Jace stiffened. And why would he? Simon clearly made a fake accusation about liking Clary that way. If Jace really felt that way about her, he'd tell her. Wouldn't he?

 **ClaryF320:** _Don't be stupid, Simon._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _I'm not. Not this time. Look, I'm just saying he's a pretty sorry excuse of a romantic. I don't care if he's reading this right now, he knows it too._

 **ClaryF320:** _The only thing that's a sorry excuse of anything is your crap-ass user name. I recommend you change it ASAP._

Jace laughed at this, but even she knew it was forced. Leave it to Simon to only further to awkwardness between them. She hated him right now. She looked at the clock at the corner of her screen. _10:25._ She couldn't believe her eyes right then. Had they really been talking for that long? Time really flew by, she thought satisfactorily. At least now she could escape the awkwardness. But she had to admit, she was a little depressed that she'd have to part ways with Jace soon. But maybe she'd see him at Isabelle's sometime soon. That thought brought her hopes up. But then it was brought down again; she remembered the mystery girl he had his eye on.

He never really would like her that way.

As if on cue, the announcement was made to begin boarding for their flight, and they both got up to gather their stuff and head to the boarding line.

 **ClaryF320:** _Finally boarding now. Gtg. Love you, be there in around nine hours. Get some sleep, I know there's a huge time difference._

 **Simonthebassist248:** _Alright, I hope you have a safe flight. I'll be there to pick you up. Love you too :3 ;)_

She smiled as she snapped her laptop shut. Simon was such a dork. Turning back to Jace, she felt herself frowning again. She wasn't entirely ready to let go of him just yet. Judging from his face, neither was he. "Okay, well..." she frowned. "I guess I'll see you at Isabelle's, then?"

He opened his eyes, his expression pleading for a split-second, before saying reluctantly, "Yeah. I'll...I'll see you."

Turning away because she knew if she stayed there for any longer she might pounce on him, and she practically ran away from him to the boarding line. Skip a few couple of minutes, and she was then in the huge airplane and sat in her seat. She was still feeling heavy-hearted about her encounter with Jace, but she would be patient. After all, he did say he would be staying a while at Isabelle's. Another announcement was made to turn off the cellphones and to stow away any tablets or laptops. She reached over to just that, when she heard a female British voice directing to her.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the flight attendant called to her sweetly. Clary glanced up at her curiously, wondering what was going on. "There isn't much space left on this plane due to its being a full flight. Can this man sit next to you meanwhile?"

Clary followed the flight attendant's line of sight and her breath hitched. The man was Jace. He really was intent on not leaving her, was he? Not that she was complaining. At. All. "Sure. It's no big deal," she said weakly, from the side Jace was smirking at her. The flight attendant sent her a grateful smile before walking away.

Jace sat in the seat next to her on her right side before turning to her. His golden eyes glinted with mischief all over again as he leaned in, his minty breath coating her senses sensually with desire. "It took me a while to convince her to sit here, you know."

She stared up at him in surprise. He actually _wanted_ to sit with her? She didn't know why that still shocked her. They had history together and they were having a good time in the gate. It was certainly better than sitting with a stranger for nine hours straight. "Oh, really?" she snorted. "I'm sure a bathroom was included in the mix too."

At this, Jace glared at her, that very expression scaring her. She hadn't seen that face in a long while. Precisely, six years, in fact. "I didn't do anything like _that_ to convince her. I just used words, God," then his eyes softened as he quickly mumbled, almost causing her to miss it, but she _couldn't –_ it wasn't the sort of thing she could ever forget. "I only ever had eyes for you."

Her eyes widened immensely. Surely, she heard wrong? "...What?" Jace sighed arrogantly before leaning and pressing his lips to hers abruptly. She sat there, her hands clutching her laptop as she was shell-shocked, but she had heard. And somehow she understood. Though she didn't understand why after all this time the answer had been _her_. It confused her to no end. Pushing it all behind, she ignored Simon's warning about not getting too close with this man, and she kissed him back – something she'd been wanting to do since forever now.

Their faces slid together for a while before Jace pulled away, his expression just as dazed as hers was. "That was even better than I expected," he eventually said as they stared at each other in shock of what just had happened. She only nodded once more before kissing him again, this time it being more fast and desperate – but nothing too steamy because they were, after all, in an airplane, not shoved against her beloved bookcase – yet they were ripped apart by the shrieking of a baby crying on the other side of the row.

"I confess," she said simply, smiling slightly at his joyful expression. _Angel doesn't serve his description justice. He's devilishly angelic, it hurts._

Jace chuckled. "Of course. Because you and I are like butt cheeks." Oh, _God –_ he had read that part of the conversation, she thought as she flushed the same color as her hair. Jace burst out laughing as he noticed her being embarrassed. Still, being the irritable bastard he always was and always would be, he finished the dirty (and that went both ways) innuendo, "Even if there's crap between us, we always stick together."

She was going to _kill_ Simon.

Clary reached over to her laptop and went quickly to settings as one last announcement was made as they were set to be departing very soon. She put her computer on Airplane Mode before shutting it down for now and turning to Jace.

"Once a snoop, always a snoop," she countered, referring to his response about looking at her and Simon's conversation.

"Just for you, babe," he replied cheekily, slipping his hand in hers, and she finally got to feel those rough but calloused hands of his. Hers were soft, so they fit perfectly. _Thank God, my flight got delayed._

Jace leaned in for another lip-lock, and she sighed inwardly. Her essays for college would have to wait.


End file.
